Changes

It was formed in 1919 as a splinter group of the [[left-wing]] of the [[Socialism|Socialist Party]] over the issue of the [[Bolshevik Revolution]] in [[Russia]]. The left wing [[socialist]]s supported [[Lenin]] and [[Trotsky]], and broke off the SP to form two rival parties: the [[Communist Party of America]] and [[Communist Labor Party]]. Under pressure from the [[Communist International]], these two communist parties officially merged in Chicago in 1919. From its inception, the Communist Party, USA came under attack from the [[FBI]] and Attorney General [[A. Mitchell Palmer]] for defying the [[Sedition Act of 1918]]. Consequently, the Communist Party went underground and went through name changes to evade the authorities.

It was formed in 1919 as a splinter group of the [[left-wing]] of the [[Socialism|Socialist Party]] over the issue of the [[Bolshevik Revolution]] in [[Russia]]. The left wing [[socialist]]s supported [[Lenin]] and [[Trotsky]], and broke off the SP to form two rival parties: the [[Communist Party of America]] and [[Communist Labor Party]]. Under pressure from the [[Communist International]], these two communist parties officially merged in Chicago in 1919. From its inception, the Communist Party, USA came under attack from the [[FBI]] and Attorney General [[A. Mitchell Palmer]] for defying the [[Sedition Act of 1918]]. Consequently, the Communist Party went underground and went through name changes to evade the authorities.

During the early 1920s, the party apparatus was to a great extent underground. It reemerged in 1923 with a small legal above ground element, the [[Workers Party of America]]. As the [[Red Scare]] and deportations of the early 1920s ebbed, the party became bolder and more open. An element of the party, however, remained permanently underground. It was through this underground party, often commanded by a Soviet official operating as an illegal in the United States, that Soviet intelligence was able to co-opt CPUSA members. <ref>"The COMINTERN (Communist International) was a Soviet-controlled organization that conducted liaison with the national Communist parties of various countries, including the United States, in order to further the cause of revolution. Moscow issued guidance, support, and orders to the parties through the apparatus of the COMINTERN."  [http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00036.pdf ''The Venona Story''], Robert L. Benson, Ft. George G. Meade, MD: National Security Agency, Center for Cryptologic History, [n.d.].</ref><ref>[http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00008.cfm Venona 142(a) Moscow to Canberra 12 September 1943]. Text reads: "change in circumstances - and in particular the dissolution of the [[Comintern]] - necessitates a change in the method used by the workers of our residencies to keep in touch with the leaders of the local [[Communist_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America#Secret_apparatus|Communist]] organizations on intelligence matters. <br>

During the early 1920s, the party apparatus was, to a great extent, underground. It reemerged in 1923 with a small legal above ground element, the [[Workers Party of America]]. As the [[Red Scare]] and deportations of the early 1920s ebbed, the party became bolder and more open. An element of the party, however, remained permanently underground. It was through this underground party, often commanded by a Soviet official operating as an illegal in the United States, that Soviet intelligence was able to co-opt CPUSA members. <ref>"The COMINTERN (Communist International) was a Soviet-controlled organization that conducted liaison with the national Communist parties of various countries, including the United States, in order to further the cause of revolution. Moscow issued guidance, support, and orders to the parties through the apparatus of the COMINTERN."  [http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00036.pdf ''The Venona Story''], Robert L. Benson, Ft. George G. Meade, MD: National Security Agency, Center for Cryptologic History, [n.d.].</ref><ref>[http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00008.cfm Venona 142(a) Moscow to Canberra 12 September 1943]. Text reads: "change in circumstances - and in particular the dissolution of the [[Comintern]] - necessitates a change in the method used by the workers of our residencies to keep in touch with the leaders of the local [[Communist_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America#Secret_apparatus|Communist]] organizations on intelligence matters. <br>

2. Our workers, by continuing to meet the leader of the Communists, are exposing themselves to danger and are giving cause [''orgs of''] local authorities to suspect that the Comintern is still in existence. <br>

2. Our workers, by continuing to meet the leader of the Communists, are exposing themselves to danger and are giving cause [''orgs of''] local authorities to suspect that the Comintern is still in existence. <br>

3. We propose: <br>

3. We propose: <br>